ERA 5 << Modern
Church (1): Reformation
& Struggles (AD 1500–1700) >> SESSION 3
Reference: Gonzalez, volume 2, chapters 8,10-11
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14.1.1
Background
·
Dispute: Henry VIII [1509–1547] married Princess Catherine of Spain, who was
his dead brother’s widow. Catherine gave birth to Mary Tudor. Henry wanted to
have a legitimate male heir so he asked for an annulment of his marriage from
the pope. But Catherine was the aunt of Emperor Charles V so the pope was
undecided.
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14.1.2
Creation of the Anglican Church
·
William Tyndale (1494–1536)—He translated the Bible from the original languages. He
was martyred near Brussels
[1536]. Most of the English Bibles before 1970 were Tyndale’s words.
·
Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556)—He was appointed archbishop of Canterbury [1532]. He supported Wycliffe’s
idea of the creation of a national church, under the direction of civil
authorities.
·
Act of Supremacy [1534]—The Parliament passed
this act to limit the authority of the RCC in England. The Anglican Church under
the king of England
was formed. However, there were still struggles between Catholics and
Protestants.
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14.1.3
Advance & retreat
·
Edward VI [1547–1553]—He was sickly and reigned 6 years. The first 3 years
was under the regency of Duke of Somerset, and Reformation in England advanced. The cup in the
communion was given to the laity. The Book
of Common Prayer [1549], mainly written by Cranmer, was published.
·
Queen Mary [1553–1558]—She was Mary Tudor, the daughter of Henry’s first wife.
She tried to restore Roman Catholicism in England. She openly persecuted
Protestant, killing 300 leaders; countless others were imprisoned and exiled.
She was thus known as the “bloody Mary”.
·
Queen Elizabeth I [1558–1603]—During her reign, Anglicans returned from the
continent, bringing Zwinglian and Calvinist ideas. Elizabeth was Protestant but not an
extremist. Her ideal was a church with common worship, but also one allowing
great latitude for varying opinions.
·
Thirty-Nine Articles [1562]—It was doctrinal
foundation for the Anglican Church. It was Calvinistic in tone, but the
retention of bishops, liturgy, and other forms of Catholic ceremony was in line
with Lutheran policy.
·
Conflict with the pope: The pope excommunicated Elizabeth
[1570], and Elizabeth executed 125 Jesuits who
planned to recapture England
for the papacy. Philip gathered a great fleet known as the Spanish Armada and
sailed to England
[1588]. It was defeated by a smaller English fleet.
·
High & low church: The high church emphasizes the ritualistic aspects similar to the
Roman Catholic Mass. The low church emphasizes the Protestant nature of
Anglicanism, as represented by the evangelical churches.
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14.2.1
Political changes
·
Reformation: The ideas of Wycliffe and Huss had found followers in Scotland. Mary
Stuart, the heir to the throne, was sent to France for her education [1542].
Mary’s mother became the regent in Scotland. A group of Protestants
controlled the castle
of St. Andrew and
repelled the government.
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14.2.2
John Knox & the Reformed Church
·
Scottish Church: John Knox
(1510–1572) was the preacher of the Protestants at St. Andrew’s. He went to
study in Geneva
with Calvin. The Protestant Scottish lords united in a covenant. John Knox
returned and helped form the Reformed Church of Scotland [1560]. The Scottish
Parliament approved the church.
·
Mary Stuart: Mary Stuart returned to Scotland and claimed the throne. At
first, she followed the advice of her half-brother Earl of Moray (1531–1570), a
Protestant leader. However, she asked the Spain
army to uproot Protestantism in Scotland
and wanted to pursue the throne of England. The lords rebelled; she
was defeated and escaped to London.
Mary Stuart Mary was received generously by Elizabeth I. However, Mary took part
in conspiracies to request Spanish troops to invade England and she was executed
[1587]. Moray became the regent of Scotland
and the Reformed Church won over Scotland.
·
Union: England and Scotland
formally became one kingdom with one Parliament [1707].
†
14.3.1 A
different route to Reformation
·
Support of the monarchs: In Germany,
the nobility asserted its power against the monarchy in the struggle for
religious freedom. In Scandinavia, it was the
monarchs who took up the cause of Reformation.
·
Revolution: Denmark, Sweden, and Norway were a united country and
ruled by the Danish king. He murdered the aristocrats and Protestants in Sweden [1520].
A young Swede Gustavus Vasa (1496–1560) led the rebellion and won the war. Sweden became
independent and Lutheranism became the state religion [1527].
·
Converted to
Protestantism: The kings of Denmark
[1536] and Norway
[1539] became Lutheran. All Scandinavia (including Finland
[1530] and Iceland
[1554]) took Lutheranism as their national religion.
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14.4.1
Reformation through bloodbaths
·
Background: At the Reformation, the low countries were ruled by Emperor
Charles V. Many in the low countries became Protestants. Charles V issued
numerous edicts against Protestants and thousands died.
·
Suppression: Philip II, son of Charles V, became king of the region [1555]. He
sent the Spanish army which conquered many cities and laid massacre, killing
indiscriminately, even women and children. William “the Silent” led the Dutch
and stopped the Spanish.
·
End: The Pacification of Ghent [1576] religious freedom. The northern provinces were
Calvinist and became the Dutch Reformed Church. The southern French-speaking provinces
remained Catholic. They were later divided into: the Netherlands,
Belgium [1830], Luxembourg
[1839].
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14.5.1
Early Reformation
·
Persecution: Protestantism gained many adherents in France, particularly among the
learned and the nobility. They were mostly Calvinists and were called Huguenots.
Many French kings persecuted the Huguenots until 1562. Many Protestants
(including Calvin) exiled to other countries, such as Holland
and Switzerland.
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14.5.2
St. Bartholomew’s Day’s Massascre [1572]
·
Massacre: The Edict of St. Germain [1562] granted Huguenots limited freedom
of religion. But massacre of Huguenots started on St. Bartholomew’s Day [August
24, 1572] in Paris.
The massacre spread to the whole country. In several months, 100,000 died. Pope
Gregory XIII ordered a celebration for the massacre.
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14.5.3
Edict of Nantes
[1598]
·
Compromise: The Huguenots gathered in strongholds of La Rochelle and Montauban and rebelled
against the king. The war continued. Henry IV (who changed religion 4 times but
was probably a Protestant at heart) became king and granted Huguenots freedom
of worship, and some fortified towns.
APPLICATION
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[1] treasure our heritage
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Our English Bible is a heritage
from Tyndale who made the ultimate sacrifice for his work, being murdered as
a martyr.
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[2] appreciate God’s providence
|
God raised up many able generals
to ensure the success of the Reformation, including Vasa, William the Silent
and his son.
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[3] avoid past errors
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The massacres in France and Holland were results of over-confidence and
excessive trust of the governments by Christians.
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[4] apply our knowledge
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Reformation came to those
countries where the Bible was read and obeyed by the people. Today’s revival
will be the same.
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[5] follow past saints
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The scholarly Cranmer and Knox led
the Reformation in Britain.
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